Duck wrangler/Horse Whisperer?

We spent some time down doing chores this morning and I got a couple nice pictures of Austin with the duck and horses. The duck has another broken leg so he wasn't really up to running from us.

Austin petting the duck, while Mokie sniffs his hair.

Austin sitting next to the duck while Mokie and JuneBug look on. It appears he is right in with the horses, but he is between their 2 enclosures.

Austin and Pumpkin (the duck).

Best Friends....err....duck with a broken leg so he can't run from the toddler!

Mokie grubbing on Pumpkins food.

"Hey kid! What you got there? Can you give us some?"

(Austin is trying to feed the duck, while Gypsy, JuneBug and Echo look on.)

Duck, duck, goose?

This duck is very attached to its horses and came as a package deal with whomever bought Mokie. He hangs out with the horses, bedding in their hay or even curling up next to Mokie when he lays down. I guess he has had his leg broken about 2-3 times so he walks with a bit of a limp...hasn't made him stay clear of the horses. They seem to tolerate him pretty well and even look out for him.

Another picture of Echo - momma horse.

We got our new horses and duck on Sunday....here they are.

This is Mokie, the stallion. He has his own pen since we don't care to have babies. He has been trying REAL hard to Brandy's attention but she appears to careless about him. I thought for sure she would go into heat, but I think maybe Arabians just aren't her thing.

This is Junebug, the 3 yr old filly. Her dad is Mokie and her mom is Echo. She is doing great under saddle. We are thinking she will be Autumns horse.

The grey horse is Gypsy, a 2 yr old filly. Next to her is Echo (white horse), 14 yr old Mare, the momma to Gypsy and Junebug. Gypsy had a saddle and a person on her back for the first time on Sunday and did AWESOME. She is just so laid back and calm. I think she will make a great horse too.

This old guy is Clue. He is the 24 yr old Morgan that came along in the package. He is a great calm riding horse, but we will take it real easy on him since he is an elder.

Here is Brandy, my Quarter horse. She has been looking for a herd since we got rid of Cisco, but I don't think she was too happy that we dumped 4 on her at once. She quickly started asserting her dominance to let them know they were in her territory. It will be between her and Echo here soon. They are all getting along nicely now for the most part though.

Cake and Mushrooms....yum!

I volunteered to make a babyshower cake for a friend of Sue's and it turned out pretty good I think.

My friend Jessica got me involved in her mushroom hunts. She hunts for morels and it is actually kinda fun to do....even though I don't care to eat them unless very tiny and hidden in foods. The bowl is the bounty she got when she went with another friend of hers and the small pile on the side is what we found the next day at a couple different spots.

A couple weekends ago, we went up to the cabin in Chickaloon. It was a gorgeous day out and we just hung out, roasted hotdogs, had smores and went for a walk, played a little catch, climbed some hills, etc. It was fun.

Austin is BIG into baseball right now and takes his glove and ball just about everywhere.

Austin catching a ride on big sis, Autumn.

Me, Logan and Austin sitting around the fire in front of the cabin.

Me and Logan.

Autumn having some difficulties eating her smore. She needs a bib I think.

Brandon watching Autumn make a mess.

We had an issue with our septic so we ended up renting a small excavator so Dave could fix it. The boys LOVE riding with daddy and most of the time fall asleep.

This time Austin fell asleep. Thats Pioneer Peak out there above the trees.

Logan looks a tad bit uncomfortable as Austin rests on him.

Here are a few pictures from Austin's Birthday party on May 23rd. I have been so busy, but I am gonna try and get some things posted here today!!

He got a little scared when everyone started singing, he hopped into my lap for protection from the scary choir. (Nevermind the unfinished cake...I got impatient with putting the baseball stitches on.)

Blowing out his candles, we practiced before-hand and I just had to help a little bit.

So happy about eating cake. Yum!

Opening presents....he wasn't as excited as I thought he would be. He kept walking off to do other stuff.